Scara Brae

It was the winter of 1850 in the Orkney Islands; an archipelago off the North west tip of Scotland. A particularly ferocious storm has been raging for a few days and so far, caused wide spread damage and over 200 lives who lived in the Bay of Skaill. The earth was peeled away and a chrysalides Neolithic village was reveals.

This is not the only Neolithic structure in the UK, or the oldest, but it is the most complete example of a village, not just in Orkney, plentiful with Neolithic structures and circles, but the best preserved Neolithic village in Europe.

This perfectly preserved example of village life in the Neolithic Britain, set within earth dam set ups to support the walls, even has beds, cupboards, a sewer system, and toilet drains for the inhabitants. The plumbing and drainage system of 3180BC to 2500BC boasts Europe’s most complete example of domestic Neolithic life; with its own UN world Heritage site status, is actually older than Stonehenge in Wiltshire and the Great Pyramids in Geza, and has remained so perfectly preserved because it was covered dup for so many years in between.

First, what was life like for those who lived in the village?

For the everyday existence, the inhabitants were users if what is termed grooved ware, a specific style of pottery distinctive to the area of northern Scotland. This would be for the preparation of meals, cutting and preparing of animal carcasses and skins, as well as heating and storing food. The houses in this village were mostly earth sheltering as they were sunk in the earth, but the plentiful supply of local slate stone allowed the construction of the houses to go a bit higher and withstand the relentless north westerly winds and provided insulation from the harsh winter. Each house is roughly 40 square meters, or 430 square feet in old money. There is one large room, containing the hearth were all activity and social interaction was centred. It is likely the fire fuel would have been drift wood or animal dung, or dried kelp, that would have filled the living space with a continual thick smog most of the time spent inside. All furniture, such as bed, tables, cupboards, etc, are stone. Even the doors were stone slabs that ran across the gap between rooms and were pulled sideways to open and close.  

This is Britain’s oldest surviving village and is worth visiting, not just for archaeological students, but also for most people who want to know more about their Neolithic heritage. So much of the village are recognisable, such as chattels and home comforts that directly relate to our way of life, such as the bed and covers. Yet, so much is different; sparse, cold, hard-life and tough-living with separate beds for Husband, wife and children.

Most evening would have been spent around the light of the hearth, eating, sewing, carving, grinding, preparing food or fixing spears and tool, and these were the gathering and socialising periods for most inhabitants. In the day these grooved ware people, cultivating barley, repaired the nine dwellings, fixed tools needed for hunting fish, seals etc or cooking, with little time for recreational activities.

The sheer depth of the UN World Heritage Neolithic shot of daily life is not just a great example for the British Isles, but one of the best preserved Neolithic monument in the world. Scara Brae is worth a visit from anyone interested in the long and fascinating culture of these islands.